Kairospl

October 26, 2009

In this excerpt from his recent book Getting Your Way Every Day:  Mastering the Lost Art of Pure Persuasion, Alan Axelrod divulges the secrets to getting what you want—for example, a raise or promotion—at work.  Simply explain to your boss why your request is in his or her best interest.

To succeed in business you must identify the people who have the greatest power and authority to propel your projects and promote your career. Bosses, of course, fall into this category. While it is certainly important to persuade others in your workplace, nothing is more important than to persuade your boss—every day.

Getting your way is not what your boss is all about. What your boss wants is her way, which, if she’s a good leader, is what she perceives will benefit the entire organization. Your goal, therefore, is wholly to identify what you want with what she wants and, by implication, with what will be good for the enterprise as a whole.

Before you approach your boss to sell an idea or a project or a point of view, be certain that you know what you are talking about. This does not mean that you have to write out a formal presentation every time you want to talk to your boss about something important. It does mean that you should diligently prepare for spontaneity. Avoid shooting from the hip. Do the necessary research. Learn something about your subject before you bring it up.

For example, suppose you want to persuade your boss to give you a raise. You could try spontaneity by blurting out, ‘‘My adjustable-rate mortgage has gone up, my daughter needs a load of orthodontic work, my old car is ready to bite the dust; please, please, please, I need more money!’’

Honest? Heartfelt?  Yes and yes. But this approach won’t do you a bit of good.

Count on it: Your boss just doesn’t sufficiently care about what you need. The far more effective approach is to avoid spontaneity and, instead, prepare a case so that you can present a persuasive argument demonstrating that it is in your boss’s self-interest to raise your salary. Here’s how:

1. Do some self-research. Compile a list of ways that you not only meet but exceed the demands of your job. Do not rely on your boss’s having kept score for you. Showing is always better than telling. Nouns and verbs are more persuasive than adjectives and adverbs. Mentally review the facts concerning people, events, and achievements that demonstrate your great value to the organization and, therefore, to your boss. Instead of using abstract adjectives like great, efficient, imaginative, create a presentation about your accomplishments that speaks the language of business—in other words, that talks in dollars: Two years ago, when you started in the department, sales volume was $XX. Today, it is $XXX. The promotional program you worked on was responsible for $XX in revenue last year. The new program slated for next year is projected to bring in $XXX.

2. Research what others—in similar positions, with similar duties, and in similar companies—get paid. If you discover that the average is significantly higher than what you currently receive, congratulations! You have found a point for your argument in favor of getting a raise. If you discover that your compensation is about average, hold this information in reserve. Should your boss point out that your compensation is about standard for the industry, you should be prepared to show the ways in which you outperform the industry standard. Of course, it is possible that you may discover that you are getting paid substantially more than the going rate. In this case, start researching the possibilities of a promotion rather than a raise.

3. Study the results of your research. Be ready to reel off your most important accomplishments—‘‘spontaneously.’’

4. Focus your research but don’t ignore key peripheral facts. For instance, you should be fully aware of how well (or how poorly) your company and department performed during the past year. Be sure that you know your job as well as its place in and impact on the company as a whole.

5. Before you meet with your boss, use your research to formulate a target salary level. Don’t just spin the wheel of fortune. Prepare yourself with a firm idea of what you can reasonably expect.

The subject of salary negotiation is just one example. Whatever idea, project, or course of action you want to persuade your boss to buy into, build your eloquence on a foundation of fact. Speak from knowledge.

Negotiating a Raise or Promotion

We have already discussed the preparation necessary for entering into a negotiation for a raise:  prepare yourself with the appropriate research. Having researched the case for your raise, call on your boss and take the following approach:

1. Decide not to ask for a raise but to negotiate for one. Asking sets up a one-way transaction. The boss gives, you take. From the boss’s point of view, it is not a very good bargain. As for you, it puts you in the position of a child or a beggar. In contrast, negotiation is an exchange, between equals, of value for value.

2. Make a specific appointment. Ensure that time is set aside. With luck, this precaution will avoid interruptions. The meeting should not appear spontaneous or spur of the moment. You don’t want to ‘‘surprise’’ your boss with a request for more money.

3. Think body language. Walk into the negotiation briskly and confidently.  Make strong and frequent eye contact. If your boss is behind her desk, pull your chair to the side of her desk (if possible) to avoid having the desktop serve as a barrier between the two of you. If you can’t sit to the side, get as close to the desk as you can. If feasible, sit higher than your boss or, at least, at the same level.

4. Begin by thanking your boss for the meeting. This serves two purposes. First, it is common courtesy. Second, the thanks should serve to remind your boss that, by agreeing to the meeting, she has decided you are sufficiently important to invest time in. Your thanks affirms the wisdom of her investment decision.

5. Make your case. Review your record, focusing on facts. Describe your achievements using nouns and verbs, instead of making mere assertions consisting of adverbs and adjectives. Make your pitch. Here’s how it might go:
‘‘Thanks for making time, Mary [if you customarily call your boss by her first name]. As you know, I’ve been with our firm for four years—two in sales, and two in marketing. This last year, I helped support the XYZ account, which we’ve transformed into a major profit center, generating $XX this last quarter. I have every reason to believe that the ABC account, which we’ve just taken on, will show similar results. I really appreciate the creative room you’ve given me, and I’ve used it to build our business.  Since I’ve been here I’ve amassed a great many responsibilities, and I think it is appropriate at this time to bring my salary up to the level of my responsibilities and my achievements. What do you think?’’

Here, you have presented your case in brief. Without mentioning a number, you have nevertheless outlined your expectations: a salary ‘‘up to the level of’’ your responsibilities and achievements. You have, that is, proposed an exchange of fair value for fair value. In addition, you have given your boss the feeling that she is both fair and astute. After all, she hired you, and you are producing excellent results.

You are reminding her that she has already invested in you, and that the investment has paid off. This opening makes a positive response possible, and the question at the end of the appeal actively engages the boss’s thought. No demand is made. Instead, this argument shifts the focus from you to your boss, subtly translating your self-interest into terms of her self-interest and the interests of the organization.

Expect resistance, the commonest form of which is a bid to delay consideration. Your boss may reply that she can’t consider the request now or that it will have to wait until later. Respond by negotiating for a specific appointment date for the salary review:

‘‘I see. Let’s set a date for the discussion, then.’’
Or:
‘‘Can we set up a meeting now for a week from Monday?’’

Don’t leave with nothing more than a vague plan to meet again ‘‘later.’’ Make an appointment.

The hardest form of resistance is the outright no. The answer may be final, as far as this particular discussion session is concerned, but don’t let it be the last word.

Boss: I just can’t accommodate you at this time.

You: What can I do to make it possible, say, in another three months?

Remain engaged. Use the negative response to gain insight into your place in the organization and to learn what your boss really needs and how you can be successful next time.

And remember, the most persuasive argument you can make with any supervisor or boss always looks toward the future.  While past performance can provide good evidence to build a persuasive argument, the past should never be the thrust of your communication.  The future is promise, and promise is the very meat of persuasive discourse.  If things are good now, argue that you will make them even better tomorrow.  If they are not so good at the moment, persuade your boss that they will improve – tomorrow – because of you.

Adapted, with permission of the publisher, from Getting Your Way Every Day:  Mastering the Lost Art of Pure Persuasion (ISBN-10:0814473350), published by AMACOM, a division of American Management Association.

October 20, 2009

The art of persuasion has been studied for hundreds of years and applied to most successful businesses. The tactics are found mostly in the sales area, but is also a core element found in most influential leaders.

How do you get people (in this case your ex) to do what you want?

By introducing conditions that have proven to produce the desired results. Persuasion tactics cross most boundaries from race to religion, and across all cultures.

How can that be? How can these “tactics” work on people from different cultures and backgrounds? Because persuasion is a play on human behavior, and in most circumstances we will respond in a similar manner.

One of the most powerful persuasion tactics is…

SCARCITY

It’s been studied and proven time and again. The less abundant something appears (it doesn’t even have to be real), it’s perceived value will dramatically increase.

We want what we can’t have. It’s a human trait that’s been cultivated for thousands of years, and can be easily manipulated.

How does scarcity apply to your breakup and your relationship? If you’ve read the book or watched some of the videos you’ll get the strong message of “don’t throw yourself at your ex”.

That’s the root of text message terrorism. You’re bombarding them with messages reminding them you’re sitting by the phone waiting for them to call. It’s a direct opposite of the scarcity principle.

You want them to think you’re out having a good time, moving on with your life, meeting new people. It doesn’t even have to be real. The mere thought of losing your affection will make it scarce.

That’s when they start to reach out to you. Because the perceived value of your affection has been significantly raised — and they want it back.

 Source: TW. Jackson.com

October 19, 2009

Effective leaders know how to align their emotions with their groups’ emotions and thus create “resonance” and shared understanding. This alignment means sharing both negative and positive emotions. Effective leaders are comfortable with a whole range of emotions and can help others move from experiencing negative emotions to feeling more productive emotions.

The following suggestions for increasing emotional awareness will help you tune in to those around you and gain sensitivity in selecting the right style for the job.

1. Be authoritative, not authoritarian.

With the exception of the Armed Forces and crisis situations, when employees are expected to do it “because I told you so,” being forced into compliance without an explanation generally creates dissatisfaction.

2. Provide social and emotional support. This is an essential part of the work environment: something that has been recognized in the research since the days of the Hawthorne Effect. Things like family days, rituals to celebrate success, and willingness to revise policies to reduce stress are all ways to enliven the social atmosphere. People need times to come together and socialize; it is a mistake to expect “all work and no play.”

3. Give sensitive feedback. Feedback is perhaps one of the most powerful tools of an emotionally aware leader. The transformative influence of a valid critique can be astounding. Done well, it has turned an angry, disgruntled, unhappy employee into a cheerful worker who was a delight to be around.

Excerpted, by permission of the publisher, from Suite Success: The Psychologist from THE APPRENTICE Reveals What It Really Takes to Excel—in the Boardroom and in Life by Liza Siegel, Ph.D.

October 14, 2009

Posted below is a recent article by Dr. Robert Cialdini taken from Influence At Work. Dr. Ciadini is president of INFLUENCE AT WORK, Regents Professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and New York Times Bestselling Business Author.

CK Khoo is indeed honored to be personally trained by him in the certification program to conduct the Principles of Persuasion workshop.

In last month’s issue, I discussed what we know about the most effective ways you can benefit from the past mistakes of others.  The topic of this month’s article concerns what we know about how you can best profit from your own past mistakes.

A study in a major psychology journal concluded that a history of setbacks, losses, or hardships—if handled constructively—gives people not downbeat, damaged, tentative personalities but upbeat, healthy, confident ones (King & Hicks, 2007).  Could it be that this effect might apply not just to your personal development but to your professional development as well?  Emerging evidence from something called Error Management Training (EMT) suggests that it well might.  But, the critical component of the process lies in the “if handled constructively” stipulation for success.  Let’s consider two major approaches to handling your previous missteps constructively and turning them into payoffs: (1) using those errors as guides to improvement and (2) using them as opportunities for social influence.

Errors as Guides to Improvement.  Along with his coworkers, Michael Frese (of the University of Giessen in Germany) has explored a novel orientation to training—one that runs wholly counter to conventional training methods that emphasize the suppression of slip-ups and that direct trainees through an error-free learning environment.  Those conventional methods have always seemed reasonable because errors can disrupt workflow, be time consuming to fix, and frustrate trainees as well as their trainers while eroding the confidence of both in the trainee’s abilities.  Yet, when Frese and coauthor Nina Keith examined the results of 24 separate studies, they found the EMT model superior to the traditional, error-avoidance approaches to training (Keith & Frese, 2008).  There are two necessary components to EMT.  The first involves urging trainees to actively explore to-be-learned tasks in order to encounter mistakes and, thereby, to recognize where and how they occur.  The second involves instruction in how best to react, psychologically, once an error is made; the instruction includes trainer feedback such as “Errors are a natural part of the learning process;” “The more errors you make, the more you learn;” and “Errors teach you what you are still able to learn.”   This second element is crucial because, without it, mistakes are experienced as defeats rather than guideposts to success.

But, what about when the goal is no longer how to train optimally for job responsibilities but how to execute those responsibilities optimally once you have been on the job for a while?  Under those circumstances, the first component of EMT—looking for chances to fumble the ball—is far from a winning game plan when dealing with real customers, coworkers, and superiors.  However, the second component—thinking of and responding to missteps as learning opportunities—still provides a professional advantage.  If, instead of being an error hunter, you position yourself to become an error opportunist, who looks to cash in on any unintended stumble by learning from it, you and your organization could profit handsomely in the long run. For instance, at recent meetings of the Association for Psychological Science, Professor Frese cited statistics showing that, compared to companies with a weak error management culture, those with a strong error management culture were 400% more likely to be among the most profitable companies in their industry.

Errors as Opportunities for Social Influence.  A while ago one of our top Cialdini Method Certified Trainers (CMCTs), Brian Ahearn of State Auto Insurance, sent me an article from a sales magazine, describing a shock that the COO of a global hotel chain got after reviewing the results of the very costly “Seamless Customer Experience” program his company had put into place.  It wasn’t guests with a seamless stay who reported the highest satisfaction ratings and future loyalty—rather, it was those who experienced a service stumble that was immediately put right by the hotel staff.  There are multiple ways to understand why this occurs.  For example, it may be that, after guests know that the organization can efficiently fix mistakes, they become more confident that the same will be true in any future dealings, leaving them with more favorable feelings toward the organization overall.  I don’t doubt this possibility; but I have a hunch that another factor is at work too: The remedy may well be perceived by guests as “special assistance,” as something the hotel has gone out of its way to provide.  By virtue of the rule for reciprocation, the hotel then becomes deserving of something in return in the form of superior ratings and loyalty.

I often talk about this hotel exec’s surprising revelation and my explanations for it when addressing business conferences.  A few months ago, I received confirmation of the reciprocity-based explanation when the General Manager of the resort hotel where I was speaking stood up in the audience and related an incident that had occurred that very day.  A guest had wanted to play tennis with her two young children, but the two child-size racquets the resort maintained were already in use.  So, the GM had a staffer drive immediately to a local sporting goods store, purchase another pair, and deliver them to his guest within 20 minutes of her complaint.  Afterward, the mother stopped by the GM’s office and said, “I’ve just booked our entire extended family into this resort for the Fourth of July weekend because of what you did for me.”

Isn’t it interesting that, had the resort stocked those additional two children’s racquets from the outset—in order to ensure its guests a “seamless experience”—their availability would not have been seen as a notable gift or service that warranted special gratitude and subsequent loyalty in return?  In fact, the racquets may have hardly registered as a blip on Mom’s resort experience screen.

What’s the implication for you?  Is it to manufacture thin spots in the ice for clients or coworkers to fall through so you can be there to extricate them?  Not at all.  That would ultimately lead to the perception that dealing with you often requires some form of rescue.  Much preferred is the simple recognition that modern business is too complex to be rendered error-free and that honest mistakes will occur.  The key is to recognize, as well, that directing resources (attention, training systems, staff, budgets) toward the utopian goal of preventing all such glitches is likely to be less effective (and much more expensive) than directing resources to the goal of resolving our self-generated problems quickly and at high levels of satisfaction.

By no means does all this imply that quality control is unimportant.  But, it’s a fool’s errand to chase performance perfection, because—besides the reality that everyone’s fallibly human after all—“perfection” means so many different things to different people (customers, for example) that it can’t feasibly be arranged for ahead of time.  Error correction, on the other hand, can be customized after the fact to the aggrieved person’s view of what constitutes a satisfactory (and satisfying) corrective.

I’m convinced that it is the unique customizability of a reaction that gives it the potential to be experienced as a personalized gift or service.  That feature brings the social influence leverage of the rule for reciprocation into play, which allows us to make sense of the heightened levels of satisfaction and loyalty that can flow, so paradoxically, from a gaffe.  In short, problem-free may not feel as good in business as problem-freed.

Sources
Keith, N., & Frese, M. (2008). Effectiveness of error management training: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 59-69.

King, L. A., & Hicks, J. A. (2007). Whatever happened to “what might have been?” Regret, happiness, and maturity. American Psychologist, 62, 625 -636.

The Principles of Persuasion (POP) Workshop can be conducted in-house in your organization. If you are interested to do so, would you please contact: info@kairospl.com?

You can click on the video on the left bar of the screen to listen to Dr. Robert Cialdini’s introduction to the Principles of Persuasion workshop or download the brochure on the top bar or left bar of the screen under “POP”. Would you do it now?

October 12, 2009

Below is an article on the power of emotions by Annie McKee, Frances Johnston, and Suzanne Rotondo as published in Executive Matters, June 2008 by AMA.

 The pressure is mounting. Concerns about the economy are growing, and the future is not certain. Some leaders, and some companies, are running scared. You are doing more with less, and the stress is beginning to show.

Under this kind of pressure, many good leaders slip into bad behaviors. Maybe you micromanage people or lose your temper too often. You know your behavior isn’t helping things. You vow to control the stress and micromanaging. But there is little change. Despite your good intentions, you fail. Why?

Recent research in neuropsychology tells us that, yes, you can change—you can develop healthier responses to stress and more effective leadership behaviors. You can become more emotionally intelligent. But it’s not as simple as noticing your deficiencies and working to overcome them. Real change begins with hope and excitement, not frustration or despair. In fact, research shows that emotions have a profound effect on what we choose to change about ourselves.

Achieving Change

Many of us decide to make changes in our behavior and our lives when faced with problems, when we believe that we are failing, or because others want us to change. These goals are more often than not about what we should be and do, rather than what we truly want. Very quickly these goals begin to feel burdensome and irritating. These feelings matter. In fact, recent research in neuropsychology shows that when we are gripped by negative emotions like frustration, self-doubt, and resentment, our mental and physical energy dwindles. We lose focus and concentration. One result: we can’t stick to our goals.

Research also indicates that hope, and the positive emotions sparked by hope, increase our capacity for resilience, creativity, focus, and goal orientation. This is related to the effect of what scientists call the Positive Emotional Attractor—a complex neurological process that helps us to function effectively even in the face of stress and the hard work of change.

Starting with a Dream

Practically, this means that a personal change process, or a leadership development program, needs to begin with a dream. To spark hope, we need to envision a future for ourselves, our lives, and our work that is meaningful and compelling. One tip: a vision of one’s future must encompass all that is important to us. It is never enough to simply imagine our work or our role at work. Test this for yourself: write down 27 things you want to do before you die. Add up how many are about work, and how many are about the rest of your life.

In Becoming a Resonant Leader, we provide a guideline for Intentional Change that allows people to engage in a process of articulating the Ideal Self (who I want to be), examining the Real Self (who I am today), and creating a plan that will work.To begin a change process that works:

 1.    Create a personal vision. Think about who you want to be, and the life you want to live.

 2.    Assess where you are today. Be honest. What is working in your life and work, and what is not?

 3.    Analyze the gaps. Create a learning plan. What do you need to learn or do to move closer to your vision?

 4. Experiment and practice in relatively safe environments. For example, if you’re working on new ways of communicating difficult emotions, don’t start with your boss!

 5. Ask for support from people you trust. You’d be surprised by how engaged and invested others become in helping us when they see how our learning plan is tied to our vision. You have the power to change your behavior, your response to stress, even your life. And there is no time like now.

 To learn more about the 24 emotional competencies for leaders, please click the heading “ECP” on the top or left side of the screen bar for details on the Emotional Capability Workshop which comes with a report of your Emotional Capability Profile. You can also download the brochure. To bring this impactful workshop to your organization, would you please contact: info@kairospl.com?

October 07, 2009

The use of the command and control style does not work especially when you have no authority over those whom you want to get things done. Below is an article by Ray B. Williams as published on Psychology Today.

How can one person get someone to do something with ease, while it’s an uphill battle for someone else? The answer is being able to use influence and being persuasive, without the use of power or control.

Our organizations and management styles are quickly evolving to accommodate our changing world and workforce. Gone are the days of the command and control management style and autocratic decision makers. Most best practice organizations use team approaches, and empower workers to think and perform independently.

Effective communication is become more important that ever, especially as workers are being encouraged to ask questions of “why?” Technology makes information more widely available and delivered more quickly than ever before forcing us to move quickly on new decisions. The more adept leaders are at the art and science of using influence and persuasion, the more likely the goals of the organization will be successfully met with less frustration and resistance.

Contrary to popular belief, persuasion is not a bad thing. Persuasion is not the same as manipulation. The difference is the intent behind the action. While persuasion can be used as a tool to manipulate, ill intent and self-serving motives are the hallmark of manipulation.

A number of psychologists, brain researchers, self-help gurus and sales training experts have added a considerable body of knowledge in recent years regarding how leaders, or anyone for that matter can be more persuasive.

Kevin Hogan, widely acknowledged as one of the foremost researchers and trainers in the area of persuasion, argues in his books, such as The Science of Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion and Covert Persuasion, focus considerably on NLP principles of mastering rapport and using non-verbal communication to first connect more powerfully with people and then influence them to help you achieve mutually beneficials.

Robert Cialdini, who wrote the book, Influence, and co-authored Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Way to Be Persuasive, tapped into extensive brain research to illustrate effective strategies and techniques, many of which are counter intuitive, that can be used to become more persuasive in dealing with people. They argue that leaders, to be more effective need to activate reciprocity with people by being positive, doing good deeds, sharing information openly, and helping others and focusing on others’ positive attributes, rather than finding their weaknesses.

Allan R. Cohen and David L. Bradford, authors of Influence Without Authority, explain how to coax cooperation from people who control resources, information and support you need to succeed.

The use of influence and persuasion is a wonderful tool for moving organizations and people forward, inspiring others to reach beyond their current borders and by creating motivated teams. The best leaders have a firm grasp on how to help people develop trust and ownership through the use of influence and persuasion.

What’s clear is that no matter what your organizational position or what kinds of clients and customers you have, part of your success depends on being able to influence and persuade people over whom you have no official or assigned control in addition to those that you do.

Why not click on the video clip on the left bar of the screen to watch and hear an introduction to the Principles of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini?

If you want to bring the Principles of Persuasion as an in-house program in your organization, would you please click on “POP” at the top or left bar of the screen? You can also write to info@kairospl.com for more details. Would you please do it now?

October 05, 2009

Below is a presentation article by Frances Tweedy and Cheryl Wright, Capability Group Ltd at the Persona Conference, San Francisco, September 2006. I am one of the three persons to be certified by Cheryl Wright, the co-author with Frances Tweedy of the Emotional Capability Profile.

For some time, we have been keen to explore the link between emotional capability and customer service. While we have not specifically allocated time to researching this aspect, which we intuitively believe exist, we have started to examine this link with a number of our clients.

For one client we used the Emotional Capability Profile to seek feedback on customer focus related behaviour as an adjunct to the Emotional Capability workshops we were already facilitating for them. Questions within the following elements were identified as meeting the customer service competency framework of this client organisation.

Accurate Self-Assessment

Self Confidence

Self-Control

Conscientiousness

Adaptability

Innovative

Achievement Drive

Initiative

Empathy

Service Orientation

Leveraging Diversity

Influence

Communication

Change Catalyst

Conflict Management

Collaboration

For those teams where customer service was a major part of their role, additional time was spent on considering the team’s overall results of these questions from the ‘others’ scores to identify where this team was performing well and the areas that the team could develop. Although these results were taken from the ECP without specifically considering ‘customer service,’ and the respondents were mainly internal (as part of the 360º approach) there was general agreement that the feedback was sufficiently useful to assist decisions to be made on key development areas. Management feedback was positive that as a process to raise awareness of the need for customer focus and to build related skills within a team, this intervention was effective.

Recently, Lye Chan Lam of Training Strategies, Singapore, has also been exploring this link and recent workshops within a hotel company have been more focused on the customer service implications of emotional capability. She has also been promoting this concept through a Radio Live broadcast in August of this year.

As mentioned in our paper on the Link between Emotional Intelligence and Performance, we have found a piece of research exploring the impact of emotional intelligence in a call centre. This study of South African call centre agents examined the relationship between emotional intelligence competencies and job performance. These people are in high-stress front line roles for a major insurance company having constant contact with customers. The role requires being aware of one’s emotions, staying composed and poised in stressful situations, focusing on the customer’s needs, providing solutions and helping to solve the client’s problems. Within this role there is also the requirement for making sales proposals, maintaining customer relations with existing customers and maintaining customer satisfaction. These people were responsible for closing sales and needed to work effectively with other team members to deliver services to clients.

A random sample of these agents was taken covering the areas of client services, sales and administration (although the roles are relatively similar). 135 participants completed ECI (Hay McBer emotional intelligence profile which is based on the same theoretical constructs as the Emotional Capability Profile) and feedback was also given by their team leaders.

The call centre had rigorous performance measures covering closing rate, number of transactions processed in a given timeframe, production time (i.e. logged in for calls) and quality of conversations (blind content analysis of randomly recorded conversations).

The study found significant correlations between agents’ emotional intelligence scores and measures of call centre performance across all three sections of the call centre, namely Client Services, Sales and Administration.

The following elements were strongly correlated with performance across all three groups:

Self-confidence (.61)

Trustworthiness (.66)

Conscientiousness (.49)

Initiative (.58)

Influence .53)

Change Catalyst (.57)

Conflict Management (.45)

i.e. the clusters of self-management and social relations. Interestingly, achievement orientation correlated highly for the Client Services and Administration group – but not the Sales group (Source: Linking Emotional Intelligence and Performance at Work. Editors: Druskat, Sala and Mount. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. New Jersey).

Further evidence of strong connections between customer service and emotional intelligence come from other sources, as follows:

“A survey conducted by the Forum Corporation on Manufacturing and Service Companies indicated the 70% of the reasons why clients/customers change providers is based upon EI related reasons (i.e. the customer did not like the human side of doing business with the manufacturer or provider of the product or service).” Customer satisfaction levels in the US are declining and the reason for this is poor service. (source: Emotional Intelligence an Executive Handbook by Human Performance Strategies, www.hp-strategies.com.)

“In a world where customers regard flawless products as a given, service is the key differentiator between competitors in any field” (quote from Discovering the Soul of Service by Leonard L. Berry.)

Research from the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organisations found the following are higher-level competencies for customer service providers (we have linked these with the relevant ECP elements):

•   Have a guiding awareness of their values and goals (Emotional Awareness)

•   Able to show a sense of humour and perspective about themselves (Accurate Self Assessment)

•   All aspects of Self-confidence

•   Think clearly and stay focused under pressure (Self Control)

•   Understand diverse worldviews and are sensitive to group differences (Leveraging Diversity)

•   Accurately read situations and organisational and external realities (Organisational Awareness)

•   Are skilled at persuasion (Influence)

•   Fine tune presentations to appeal to the listener (Influence)

•   Spot potential conflict, bring disagreements into the open and help de-escalate (Conflict Management)

•   Build rapport and bring others into the loop (Collaboration)

•   Balance a focus on task with attention to relationships (Collaboration)

•   Spot and nurture opportunities for collaboration (Collaboration).

Some key points that emerge from this research studies are:

• Self management and social relations are key competencies for those in front-line customer service positions

• Getting feedback (through the ECP) on how they and their respondents perceive their level of emotional capability enables  identification of strengths and development needs

• Emotional intelligence is able to be developed – so specific interventions targeting the critical elements in customer service will have a positive impact.

The conclusion is that 360° feedback, followed by experiential training to assist individuals to understand the behaviours that project these elements of emotional capability, and then individuals practising the consistent demonstration of those behaviours will support enhanced performance in customer service.

We would welcome further case studies from Persona partners on the use of the ECP to assist customer service so that we can increase the knowledge and experience of everyone using the ECP which will lead to enhanced opportunities to assist the clients of Persona partners globally.

If you want to learn more about Emotional Capability or even have this workshop conducted in your organization, would you click on “ECP” on the left bar or top bar of the screen? Would you also write to info@kairospl.com for more details?

October 02, 2009

I’ve got five words for you that will double charitable contributions people give you.  That’s five, f-i-v-e, 5, cinqo palabras, that will double, times 2 it.  Magic words, baby.  And I know them.

 Nope, nothing about sex, drugs, money, fame, fortune, or film at 11.  Not even close.  You aren’t even close with your guesses.

 You know what?  I like you.  You interest me.  I’m gonna tell you for nothing.  Those Five Magic Words.  That will double the success rate.  You’re a good kid and I want to help.

 Robert Cialdini devised these ingenious Magic Words over 30 years ago.  While going door-to-door to solicit charitable contributions for the American Cancer Society at 84 households, experimenters either made a simple request, “Would you please contribute to ASC?,” or made the request plus the Magic Words.  Thus, half the households, 42, got the Normal Request while the other half, 42, got the Normal Request plus Magic Words.

 Got that?  Either, “please contribute” or “please contribute and Magic Words.”  A five word addition to a simple request for a charitable contribution.

 And what happened?

 When hearing the Normal Request, 28% of the people gave some money.  When hearing that Request plus the five Magic Words, 50% of the people gave some money.  In total the Normal Request earned $18.55 in contributions while the Magic Words earned $30.34.  Interestingly when a person made a contribution, they averaged about $1.50 regardless of whether hearing the Normal or the Magic Words request.  That’s nearly a 100% increase in both the number of people who contribute and the amount of money.  With five Magic Words.

 Cialdini replicated the effect in another study that tested other Magic Words, but nothing worked better than the original five Magic Words.  And, 30 years later, a team of researchers working in Poland found the same effect for the same five Magic Words, although in Polish, not English.

 Now here’s a wrinkle.  Both the American and Polish tests occurred face-to-face with people actually talking to each other in real time.  A few years ago, another American team tested the Magic Words, but used printed signs next to collection bottles in stores for a worthy cause.  Instead of speaking the Magic Words, they just wrote them.  Guess what?  The magic went away.  No effect.

So, we know that there are five Magic Words for increasing charitable contributions, that these words work in America and Poland, and that they work when you speak them, but not when you write them.

 Now.  Here are the MAGIC WORDS:  “We’re asking for your help.  Would you please contribute?  EVEN A PENNY WILL HELP.”

 How does this work?

 The five Magic Words function as persuasion cues with low WATT processors.  Realize that all those nice folks standing at the door, listening a pro-social appeal, are not thinking carefully and effort-fully at what you say.  They are distracted, perhaps even mildly annoyed.  Then they get cued up in a most simple way – Even A Penny Will Help.  So easy.  Just give the nice person a penny, then go back to watching TV, and you’ve done a good deed!

 This is called peripheral route persuasion and as long as you deliver the cue so that the receivers can easily and immediately act upon it, you will get the change you desire.  But, remember, the five Magic Words only work when:

 1.  You make a pro-social or charitable request.

2.  You say the Magic Words in person as you are talking.

3.  You make sure they can act on your request immediately.

 The Magic Words will NOT work if you make a selfish, profit-oriented request, if you write them on a sign, or if you make the request, but the target cannot quickly or easily act on it.

 Sometimes, persuasion really is that simple.  But, there’s never any magic to it.  You can change the five words here to anything else that means, “give something even if it’s small” AND a specific, concrete comparison like a “penny.”  The “magic” here is not found in the exact words, but rather in the plea for small help and a particular example of “small.”

 By Steve Booth-Butterfield, Ed.D. in Psychology Today

 If you have found the above article useful and would like to attend the Principles of Persuasion or even have the workshop in your company, kindly download the POP Brochure by clicking the title “POP” at the left hand side or the top of the screen. You can also view the video clip from Dr. Robert Cialdini on the left hand side of the screen. Would you write to: info@kairospl.com for more information?

October 01, 2009

French case study – from François Pham, Open Act

 The last time I used the Emotional Capability Profile was very successful. The manager concerned is an engineer working for a subsidiary of an aircraft company. He had been really shocked when he learned that he was no longer a member of the top key managers of his plant after the last re-organization. He didn’t understand the decision of his boss and was really angry with everybody in the organization. His disappointment was so high that he was thinking about leaving the company and the HR manager asked me to coach this person.

I had a long discussion with his boss to find out that the reasons why he decided not to keep this person in a key management role. His boss told me that on the positive side the guy was very competent technically – certainly the best in his area (industrial processes). He was also very committed and did not count his time and effort at work. He was very good for pushing projects and making things change… at the beginning. However, on the other side, he had very poor communication skills and low (non existing!) empathy. He generated, without knowing it, many conflicts with people as he thinks that he is always right (which is often true on the technical point of view, but so often wrong on the human side of the problems!!).

So I started coaching him. The first meeting was more dedicated to listening to what he had to say. And you can imagine that he had a lot! The second meeting, I began to encourage him to speak about some specific situations (conflicts, meeting with his subordinates, with customers…). We spent time on helping him clarify the kind of emotions he felt in these situations and in trying to imagine what the other people felt at the same time. I asked some questions like : “What did you feel ? ” , “What made you so angry ?”, “Why do you think your colleague reacted this way ?” , “What were his feeling about you at this time?”…. Then, we continued the discussion on the same level – emotions and feelings – but concerning the way he reacted when he learned that he was no longer considered as a top manager of the plant. He talked a lot about the pressure he had in his job, that his boss was “using” him as a “dynamite guy” to make things move. After two years performing this role, he had so many enemies in the organization that he was “burned”.

 At the end of this meeting, the guy told me that he had never had a discussion like this. Never in his job or in his private life. He told me also that he felt a bit “handicapped” as he didn’t have enough vocabulary to speak about his emotions (he asked me to send him a “dictionary of emotions”! – and I did this with Wikipedia help).

I closed the meeting suggesting that he put down on paper his feelings and emotions just after a situation like this happened. I suggested to him, of course, to do the ECP profile. And he did it.

So the third meeting was focused on the feedback report. Every point we started to cover during the previous meeting was on paper: High motivation but very low conscientiousness of his emotions: Poor self control and bad conflict management: No empathy of course! The feedback was “bad” in terms of scoring but was very useful for him. As an engineer, he needed figures and data to start changing.

This is what he is doing now. He has really changed the way he behaves with people, and especially with his new team. For instance, he doesn’t try anymore to demonstrate he is right but spends time listening to people and trying to achieve consensus. This is not just my opinion or his. That’s what everybody says in the plant: his boss, subordinates and colleagues. But he has still a lot to do. That’s why we are still having a meeting every two months.

 Basically our meetings follow the following pattern. As he still writes down on paper the way he reacted during a sensitive situation, we start the discussion about these situations and then make links with communication issues, conflict management, empathy, delegation….

 Of course in a few months we will redo the ECP profile.

 If you have found this case study useful and would like to have the Emotional Capability Workshop in your company, just click ‘ECP” on the left side bar or top bar to download the Emotional Capability (ECP) brochure OR email info@kairospl.com for more information.